In the western wing of Ciel-Terra, there was a medium-sized city by the name of El Tareff, sitting at the heart of Earl Keeleyâs county .
The city rose using the Earlâs castle as its center, which was further surrounded by a wall .
Even at dusk, El Tareffâs shopping district shone bright with the buzz of haggling and arguments .
Among the streets haunted by stray dogs and drunkards, one particular tavern stood out with its âClosed for Todayâ sign . The Leaping Flounder was currently occupied by four adventurers .
âNight Python, ehâŚâ
The woman, nearing 30 years of age, sighed as she filled her cup with a good helping of booze, the cuffs of her habit reeking of sweet intoxication . The fingers of her free hand were clasped around a long, thin, metal pipe, itâs head smoking with the ripe burn of tobacco .
Her blood-red lipstick and the mole under her eye mixed into a sensual concoction, drawing stares to her slightly peeved demeanor .
Metal accessories adorned all the skin her white and dark blue habit did not cover, while further below, her skirt had been ripped to form slits, an outfit that flew against the common sense of those of the Priestess persuasion .
Her elbow rested against the table as she drank, taking puffs from the metal pipe every few drinks like a snack .
Her name was Diana . She was a member of âDragonâs Throatâ, a party of level 4, Guard, that operated in this town .
âArenât they based in some other county?â
âAye . Theyâve got a network spread all over the country, canât really hit âem well if itâs just one lonesome Lord on their tail . â The man sipped his drink as he replied . His body was fully covered by heavy armor, but because the head poking out of it was flat and round, and his height overall was barely average, he lacked the menace of a heavy hitting vanguard .
Perhaps because of the current atmosphere around him, he looked somewhat light and casual, despite the heavy full body of armor .
This was Hugh . He held the position of Tanker in Dragonâs Throat .
A man shook his furry head after listening to their conversation as he scooped up slices of cooked meat with a bone toothpick .
âThe Lord Earl donât really wanna do that much . Just wants ter kick âem outta his county . â
With giant and thick muscles wrapped in olive-brown pelt, the dog-faced man spoke . A triangular pair of ears lay on top of his head .
It should go without saying, but this man was not actually human . Rather, he was a Kobold . This was Benedict, a Fighter by profession, and the leader of âDragonâs Throatâ .
âBesides, it donât gotta be anytime now, right⌠. â
âLater ainât gonna cut it . The Earl wants it done now . Heâs been after âem for for some time now, looking to kick âem outta the county . Right now, thingâs looking pretty gnarly for the country . Heck, worst case scenario, we canât even lift a finger in the future . Itâs all up to fate, so we need to do what we gotta do asap . â
âI see, I see . â
The owner of this tavern was a friend of Benedictâs, so they were being allowed to hold a business meeting on a holiday . The drinks and food were all being put on their tab .
Their topic of discussion was the measures taken by Earl Keeley to suppress and, hopefully, eliminate Night Pythonâs operations from his county .
Benedict felt the conversation had reached its conclusion .
âSo, our workâs exactly what we talked about earlier . He wants to poke his nose into their stuff . Our jobâs keeping him safe . â
âYo, leader . Are we really sure about this?â
Dianaâs eyes, glittering like the starry night sky, glared at Benedict . Or maybe the alcohol was working and she felt sleepy .
âIâm okay with it, like always, but you know . The thing isâŚâ
âI donât care, honestly . â the little girl spoke as she nibbled on a whole grilled fish .
âWeâre adventurers . Itâs our job . â
Blonde hair fell on her shoulders in gentle waves . Her mauven eyes let not a glance away from her food while her cherry cheeks quivered gently as she partook her meal . Her dark hooded cloak was a size that was a bit larger than her body, giving her an uncouth appearance .
She, Iris, was the final member of Dragonâs Throat . An 11 year old Wizard, a genius that reached the level of Guard at such a tender age .
Diana seemed to look dissatisfied with Iris, who continued her meal in a composed manner .
ââŚIâm still against this . Especially if Iris is in on this . â
âItâs not as if I donât care about her wellbeing either, Diana . â
Benedict shook his head, as if making excuses .
âAre you sure about this, Iris?â
âDiana . I am just as much a Guard-level adventurer as you, and everyone else present here is . â
âYouâre⌠youâre right . â
âAnd whatâll happen to little Catherine if Iâm gone?â
Much of Earl Keeleyâs family consisted of knights and adventurers . Even his Lady was a former Priestess and was quite knowledgeable about magic . The most defenseless among them, thus, would be Catherine, who only turned 11 this year .
On the off-chance that Night Python decides to retaliate, this young girl would be at most risk of being targeted . Even as an Earl, he had to consider her .
Thus the request Dragonâs Throat had received from the Earl was an Escort . And included in that request was the specific clause that Iris was to be Catharineâs body double .
Dianaâs lips parted slightly, but her shoulders fell back, deciding to refrain from speaking her mind .
âAlright, okay, fine . Anyway, just, donât do anything stupid . With the four of us combined, weâll be fine against the average thug . Well, theyâre a big organization, so Iâm guessing theyâll be coming at us with all sorts of tricks and surprises . â
âA-huh, yup . â
âThen weâre going to tell the Earl what we decided on tomorrow . â
Benedict closed the topic as he shot a glance at Dianaâs reluctant expression .
But Hugh interrupted with his arm raising his mug up .
âLeader . Iâm fine with what we got offered this time around, but you gotta answer us . How long are we gonna stick around here, playing fetch with this Earl?â
âHmmâŚâ
âNot saying Iâm against working for the Earl or anything, nah, itâs actually the opposite . The man pays well too . But, I gotta say, thereâs not much here on our level . Gotta go outta town every now and then just to look for some good jobs . If you ask me, Iâd like to move to a place where thereâs more opportunities . â
The adventurerâs guild in El Tareff held jurisdiction over all of Ear Keeleyâs county .
However, that wasnât nearly enough territory to cover .
A Guard-level adventuring party would more or less be mid-level in ranking .
For them to go around accepting requests to exterminate giant sewage rats looks not only awkward, but the returns are lower as well .
On top of that, good quests were hard to come by inside a small county . For that reason, Dragonâs Throat often travelled to other towns, sometimes even to the Royal Capital, to look for better work .
Before becoming an adventurer, Benedict worked at the Earlâs home as a bodyguard . It was those favors he had incurred, that he was trying to pay off currently . However, making a living off only requests made by the Earl was difficult .
âAnd thatâs not all . Staying around these parts itselfâs gotten pretty dangerous . The coup mightâve gone well and the civil warâs over, sure, but whatâs gonna happen nextâŚ? Are we gonna go to war with the Federation?â
ââŚIâll think about it . Decide on what to do after we finish this one up . â Benedict said as his ears drooped down .
Hugh was well-versed in worldly matters and much more grounded in thinking, often considering things far in the future . This helped to keep Benedictâs more flawed ideas from taking off . But while he often pointed out his flaws and fallacies, the ultimate decision lay in Benedictâs hands .
âAre we done? Okay then, Iâm going to go back to the inn first . â Iris stood, having finished her grilled fish . Their meeting seemed to be over .
âNeed an escort?â
âIâm fine, Iâm fine . Itâs right around the corner . Besides,â she picked up the staff that leaned against the wall . It was quite long, with multiple golden ring decorations, like the brim of a sword .
âIf some idiot tries to do anything stupid, Iâll just turn the tables on them . â
ââŚcanât argue with that . â Diana smiled as she blew out a thin cloud of smoke .